1. Field of the Invention
This invention is a new and distinct apple cultivar `Teeple Red Empire` is exceptional for the greater amount of red color on the surface of the fruits than on fruits of the original cultivar `Empire`. In all other respects it is similar to `Empire`.
The `Teeple Red Empire` was discovered as a limb sport on a tree of `Empire` in an orchard behind Russell Teeple's house, RD #3, Wolcott, N.Y. 14590. The branch was first noticed as bearing redder fruits in 1986. It has continued to bear fruits that are distinctly redder than the fruits on the remainder of the tree (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3). The extent of the sported limb was carefully marked (FIG. 4). Buds were taken from the sported branch and budded onto M9 rootstocks. These trees were planted in another orchard in 1988.
2. Description of Related Art
In early October, 1988, Dr. R. L. Andersen, Ken Livermore, and Dr. R. E. Way, Pomologists at the NYS Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, were invited to see the fruit of the sport on the tree. They agreed that there was significantly more red on the fruit of the sported limb than there was on the unsported part of the tree or on nearby `Empire` trees on limbs in similar positions.
`Teeple Red Empire` is a major improvement over the original cultivar because its greater color will permit a higher proportion of the fruit to quality for the extra fancy grade.
No differences have been observed between this new cultivar and the original variety `Empire`, except the amount of red color on the skin. Such things as tree shape and bearing habit, time of leafing and bloom, leaf shape and color, the color and size of the flowers (FIGS. 5 and 6), pollination requirements the time of fruit maturity, or the size and shape of the fruit of `Teeple Red Empire` are identical to `Empire`. Only the color is different.
Also, Dr. Martin Goffinet of the Department of Horticultural Science, NYS Agricultural Experiment Station, examined the fruits of the `Teeple Red Empire` histologically. He found that the very dark red or maroon areas of the sport and the normal `Empire` had the same distribution of red coloration i.e. almost all of the epidermal cells and those of the outer 2 or 3 hypodermal layers were pigmented. Similarly, in the greenish yellow areas of both the sport and `Empire` itself, only the occasional cell of the epidermal layers had pink to red vacuolar anthocyanins. The areas of the fruits with pink to light red colored skin had intermediate amount of epidermal and subepidermal cells that were pigmented in both the sport and the original variety. So the difference in color between the two kinds of fruit is a matter of the amount of surface that is colored rather than the quality of the pigmentation.
Evidence of the similarity in the maturity of the red sport and of the normal cultivar is presented in Table 1 where the pressure test reading and the soluble solids readings on 5 apple are compared for 1988 and 1989. The pressure test utilizes the firmness of the fruit as a measure of maturity and soluble solids measures the amount of sugar in the juice as an indication of maturity. The cultivars are quite similar for both years.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Maturity of `Teeple Red Empire` and `Empire` harvested on the same day in 1988 and 1989. Variety Year Soluble Solids Pressure Test ______________________________________ Normal `Empire` 1988 12.5 11 `Teeples Red Empire` 1988 13.0 14 Normal `Empire` 1989 13.0 15.4 `Teeples Red Empire` 1989 13.0 15.5 ______________________________________
Trees of the `Teeple Red Empire` and the normal cultivar were budded on M9 rootstocks in 1987. These were planted in the orchard in 1988. There were a few fruit set on these trees in 1989, but unfortunately the birds attached and destroyed them before pictures could be taken to document the increase in color.
Cummins et al, 1974, New York's Food and Life Sciences Bull., No. 41 pp. 1-15, shows `Empire` on M-9 rootstock produces fruit three years from planting.